


let every color illuminate

by withaflashoflove



Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-02
Updated: 2016-12-27
Packaged: 2018-09-03 16:09:29
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,620
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8720236
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/withaflashoflove/pseuds/withaflashoflove
Summary: The Brother/Sister Crime Fighting Unit faces its biggest challenge yet, as Killer Frost gains insight on Wally and Iris's identities. AU.The rating may change to M with the upcoming chapters.





	1. Chapter 1

Student loans were undoubtedly the bane of his existence. When Barry graduated top of his class in biochemistry, he figured he’d be set with doing research at a great lab with some great people and a rigorous field he loved. Little did he know research didn’t pay too well. This meant bartending every night as a side job, in order to pay off student loans, rent and everything else he needed.

It wasn’t a bad job. Minus the obnoxious people who got way too aggressive over their alcohol, it was actually a treat. People watching while finessing the chemicals of his drinks. Really, it wasn’t the worst gig in the world.

And on nights like tonight, he’d strike up a conversation with a nice person which would make the time pass by a lot quicker.

“What is this?” the young guy asks, sitting on a stool on the opposite side of the bar.

“My special drink,” Barry smirks, topping off the drink with a finishing squirt of lime juice. “It’s called the DNA Cocktail.”

“DNA Cocktail?” the guy asks, taking a sip. “Oooooof! That’s strong!”

“It is!” Barry grins wider, “the recipe calls for less gin. But I think the ingredients mask it well enough to handle a bit more.”

Barry watches the guy in the yellow shirt take another huge gulp. They’d been chatting for the past 10 minutes it took Barry to make this cocktail. Luckily, the conversation was easy, but he still didn’t catch his name.

“What do ya think?”

“I think I need to tell my sister to get here already. She’d love this. Especially the pineapple,” he laughs, “and the beaker. She likes nerdy things.”

“Sounds like a girl with great taste,” Barry grins and goes back to cleaning the shot glass in his hand. His eyes catch two people walking in as he scans the bar, but quickly resumes his gaze on the near empty glass as he hears it hit the surface. “You downed that fast!”

“It’s good. A+...” he pauses… “sorry, not sure your name.”

“Oh!” Barry quickly drops the towel, “I’m Barry! Barry Allen,” he says, extending a hand.

“Wally,” the guy in the yellow shirt reaches for his hand, returning the greeting, “you make a mean drink, Barry.”

“It’s all in the chemistry,” Barry smirks.

Before he has time to offer Wally another one, he hears a thud, and before he knows it, he’s on the ground, shielded behind the bar. There’s an accompanying flash of yellow lightning that speeds past his eyes. His body goes numb, the alcohol bottles on the shelves shaking above him, threatening to crash to the ground.

Dazed, Barry attempts to reach for his phone, 911 already on his mind.

“Don’t!” he hears a different voice, what sounds like a breathless woman, and he looks to his side, only to find a pair of heels greeting him back.

“Don’t move your neck!” the woman warns, squatting down besides him, snatching the phone away from his reach.

When Barry meets her face, he notices she’s got the same features as Wally, the resemblance too uncanny for him not to make the connection. But she’s prettier than Wally, has an edge that he didn’t have, and suddenly the phone’s long forgotten as Barry struggles to catch his balance for an entirely new reason, his mind foggy from the pain and the beauty.

“You’re the sister,” he mumbles.

“Don’t talk,” she shushes him, her hands on his neck, and they feel as soft as silk, as she wraps his head in what he assumes is some sort of neck brace. “Stay still, okay?”

“Okay,” he attempts to nod, but she’s got his neck firmly between her hands.

“You’re terrible at taking orders,” she reprimands, and for all the sharpness he hears in her voice, it doesn’t seem to affect its sincerity.

Without warning, she’s off again and before he can tell what’s happening, the world goes dark.  


* * *

 

“I was just telling him about you,” Wally groans from the bed, and Iris turns around to look at him, forcing her eyes away from Barry’s unconscious body.

“You are so stubborn,” she walks over, an ice pack in her hand, “stop talking.”

“My voice is the only thing that doesn’t hurt. You’ll have to excuse me, sis.”

She’s more concerned than annoyed, but her brother has a bad habit of running into danger without fully analyzing the situation, and right now she’s about ready to slap him for giving her a near heart attack. Instead, she puts the ice pack on his head.

“Why don’t you listen, Wally?” Iris asks.

“Because you’re too cautious.”

“What, so dying would be better?” she counters, now sitting next to him on the bed, her hand still holding the ice pack. “Look at you! You’re nearly paralyzed.”

“Iris,” Wally smiles, moving his hand to her thigh, and she nearly smacks it away but doesn’t want to injure him more, despite the healing abilities. “I’m fine, sis. I promise.”

Really, thank god for Cisco. Because if she hadn’t realized that both Firestorm and Killer Frost would hijack their night out today, then Wally could’ve been long gone by now.

She tried to warn him they’d catch on, the paper trail left by CCPN becoming too obvious to cover. What Wally and Iris needed was to stay put and hide, not to go out for drinks. But Wally was stubborn, still wanted to brave the bar. _I’m too good, Iris. We’re too good. Even if they come, they can’t beat us,_ he told her earlier that day.

Deep down, she knew she couldn’t stop him. On Francine’s death anniversary of any day, Wally didn’t listen. Not to her. Not to Joe. Not to Linda. Not to anyone. And tonight, he wanted a drink at the local bar. Linda told him the bartender was one of a kind a few weeks ago. So Iris promised to join him, even though she knew it wasn’t safe. But he was her brother and Francine’s death still hit them both hard, moreso Wally than her. The least she could do was be there for him.

“Hey,” Wally pats her thigh, “you okay there?”

The tear drops onto his hand. “Iris.”

“I’m fine,” she turns her face, wiping the other one away, “really, it’s you I’m worried about.”

“I’ll heal,” he comforts her, “I just need a new suit.”

“Wally -”

“Iris,” he interrupts, “I know you’re upset with me. And I know I should’ve listened. But I’m okay and you’re okay.”

She nods, swallowing back her words.

“Really, we have him to worry about.”

Iris turns back to see Barry still lying on the bed, his eyes shut tight, his expressions soft, despite the nasty scar on the side of his cheek.

“Poor guy.”

“He makes a mean drink,” Wally tells her as she gets up and walks over to Barry.

“Does he?”

“He does. Was just telling him you’d love it.”

Iris reaches his bed and stares at him for a while. He looked too soft to be a bartender, too soft to get caught up in something as dangerous as fire and ice. She traced the pad of her finger along his jawline. The prickly stubble poked her finger, and his breath seemed to stop at the contact, only for a split second.

“You’d like him,” Wally laughs, “he’s your type of guy.”

“You need to sleep,” Iris responds, not really paying attention to the words leaving her lips, too preoccupied by the pretty boy in her bed. Of all people who were at the bar tonight, it just had to be the green-eyed, brown-haired puppy of a guy.

“Don’t fall in love, sis,” Wally teases, but before she counters, she hears his snores.

Whether fake or not, he needed his sleep, so she’d let it go for now.

But as Wally was falling asleep, Barry was waking up, his motionless body shifting slowly, his legs stretching, his eyelids fluttering.

She already had the entire story. They’d tell him there was a bar fight, and given they were the only two people at the bar, they had to take him back home with them. Their friend was a doctor; she patched him up. The rest would be history, and if he pried, Iris would do what she does best. Create a story too good to doubt. Afterall, the only witness was Wally, and Jesse wasn’t above a little lie if it meant protecting the speedster’s identity.

His moan shifts her attention back to him, the pretty greens of his eyes adjusting to the light from the room.

Before he says anything, she’s surprised at the smile that forms on his lips, and Iris has to bite down her cheeks to prevent one from plastering on her lips as well.

“Your hand’s warm,” he sighs, and Iris becomes keenly aware of her fingers still grazing his jaw. She quickly swipes it away.

“You might feel a little lightheaded,” she says, both hands falling to her lap, her eyes still studying his features, “but that’s just the effects of the medicine.”

“I feel like a truck ran me over,” Barry laughs in a pained voice.

“Go back to sleep.”

He meets her eyes. “I remember you from last night.”

“Yeah, you took a hard hit to the ground,” Iris affirms, the story readying itself on her lips.

“Guess so. I was seeing flashes of light, I swear.”

The air hangs heavy between them. She turns her head to see her brother fast asleep, the gashes on his chest already looking smaller and less viscous than before. The suit rests discarded in another room, out of sight, just like any other clues that would threaten to expose who Wally was.

She turns back to Barry, who she notices is still looking at her, a small smile drawn on his lips. Really, this was the part she hated. The part where people got hurt because her and her brother weren’t quick enough to save them. Some days, that reality was easier to swallow. But right now, they had two evil metas on their tail, one of them being the one that killed their mom.

And Iris couldn’t deal with emotions. Not right now. But Barry was all emotion, she could already tell.  
Which would make this harder for her than it already was.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have finals coming up, so I'm not sure how fast I'll be able to update for the next two weeks or so, but I'll do my best.  
> Feedback/comments are always appreciated :)


	2. Chapter 2

She usually wasn’t so demanding. But sometimes, things got overwhelming. Like last night.

Iris only got intel on Killer Frost and Firestorm’s movements minutes before she left the house to meet her brother. Linda rang her in, CCPN getting a new ping about the metahumans’ activities from witnesses nearby. _A few people are posting they see Elsa and a guy on fire,_ Linda told her, a mix of humor and fear in her voice.

So she hopped in her car and drove as fast as she could. That’s the other thing. Being a cop’s daughter didn’t mean she was exempt from traffic stops. It just meant free donuts and coffee, on occasion.

On the way, she called Cisco, telling him to meet her there.

And so the fight broke out, and Wally was hurt from one of Firestorm’s hits, and Barry was now on their hands, an innocent bystander who had nothing to do with it.

She tended to Barry while Cisco vibed Wally back to the crib, Jesse already waiting nearby.

So they had a team.

So Iris was the leader.

So Iris dealt with a lot of pressure and a lot of guilt if things didn’t pan out the way they were supposed to.

Which is why she took Barry back with her, afraid her father would suspect anything if he saw her at the bar, especially with metahuman sightings nearby. He was already getting suspicious of them, of her and Wally, and she figured either they’d tell him or he’d find out. Neither of those were ideal.

Because Joe was still mourning Francine’s loss, and even though he didn’t entirely hate metas for it, often working side by side with Kid Flash, he’d definitely feel some type of way if his son was one of _them_.

One of the people who killed his wife.

This meant the truth would stay between Iris and Wally for a little while longer.

That was the other thing. Iris was always close to her mom. But it’d only been a few years since she passed, and Iris hadn’t let herself process any of it as much as it deserved. Which is why when the grief hit Wally in waves, she’d comfort him. And he’d ask her when she got so strong, when she hadn’t yet shed a single tear since the funeral, and Iris wouldn’t answer. Instead, she’d hold her brother close, counting to ten in her head, then over again, because that’s what she did.

She swallowed her own pain for the sake of others.

And it was overwhelming. Especially when they were in constant danger. Especially when she couldn’t stop to catch her breath.

The demand of yesterday was warranted, as a result. At least until everyone was safe again and things quieted down.

Like when they let Barry leave yesterday, after he was fully healed. And when she hugged Wally for the first time again, after the wounds closed up.

Now, they were on their way to _Ramon Industries_ , Cisco’s lab, where Jesse also worked on occasion, in need of a new suit for Kid Flash.

“Iris!” Cisco, greets her, standing tall to give her a hug.

“Hey.”

He pulls back to look at her, already sensing the weariness in her voice. “You good?”

The head shake is all she gives, before turning around to face Wally. “He needs a new suit.”

“Bro. I made you that one like a month ago!”

“Don’t blame me,” the speedster smirks, “blame the evil dude and his fireballs.”

“So not Killer Frost?” Cisco asks.

The siblings shake their head. “I figured she wasn’t working alone,” Iris explains, already making her way into the main room, “just didn’t think it’d be with Firestorm. But it makes sense, in retrospect.”

“Fire and ice,” Cisco quips, following after her, with Wally tagging along.

They both almost run into Iris, as she comes to an abrupt stop, her body lagging behind the actions of her feet.

“Geez!” Cisco’s hands encircle her waist, both to prevent her and himself from falling down.

But Iris doesn’t notice.

Instead, she’s fixated on the pair of green eyes that are staring back at her, the tenderness she remembers still coloring them.

“Barry.” She’s a little out of breath, which seems to tip Cisco off, as he lets go of her waist. His head stays perched on her shoulder.

“You know him?”

Iris doesn’t answer.

“I thought it was a dream,” Barry’s voice fills the air, and she feels her knees buckle just a little.

After he’d healed properly, they may have knocked him out and taken him back to his place. Really, it was for his own good. He was so out of it when he’d had that conversation with her that it made sense to just play it off, without the need for explanations and lies.

“Cisco” - Iris hears Wally behind her, and suddenly she remembers her brother’s words from yesterday. _Don’t fall in love, sis._ \- “you know him?”

“Who, Barry?” the engineer asks, now standing besides Iris, in the middle of the two siblings.

“Me, Barry,” Barry smiles, still staring at Iris.

“He’s a biochemist here. Of course I know him.”

_Barry Allen. Biochemist Barry Allen. The Barry Allen that Cisco had hired a few months back to be a full-time researcher. That Barry Allen._

“He’s also your biggest fan, Ms. West,” Cisco laughs.

“You _are_ Iris West.” Barry gets up and makes his way over to Iris, who’s still entirely fixated on the scene unfolding before her.

_Her biggest fan?_

“You remember,” she whispers.

“Yeah, from last night,” Barry reaches her, stands firmly in front of her, and both Wally and Cisco fade to the background. “I wasn’t sure if it was you. My head was spinning.”

“Fair,” her lips turn upwards.

And she wants to reach up and touch him, which is a little unusual for her, because she’d only seen him twice and already felt herself enamored by him.

“...should we give you two a minute?” Wally hesitatingly asks.

“And you’re Wally!” Barry turns to meet Wally’s eyes. “You okay, man?”

“I’m good, yeah. Just a few cuts.”

“What even happened? The only thing I remember -” he stops, turning to Iris to give her a little smile, “- besides you” - he gestures to her -  “and Wally was a bright light, followed by nothing.”

“Some people just broke into the bar,” Iris lies, “I got there in time to call the cops. The light you’re thinking of was probably the ambulance arriving.”

Lying wasn’t her favorite thing to do. She hated lying to her dad, mostly, because if anything, he deserved to know. But even lying to strangers (or maybe not strangers, in the case of Barry), tore her up a little bit.

“Cisco, can we talk?” Wally asks, “...and give these two a little alone time, in the process.”

That earns him a smack to the chest. A hard one, at that.

“He seems to like teasing you,” Barry tells her after Cisco and Wally leave the room.

She rolls her eyes. “Isn’t that what baby brothers do best?”

“Wouldn’t know.”

“No?”

“Only child,” Barry smiles, “but I can imagine.”

And there’s something so humble about it, that it draws her in completely. Bartender-Barry didn’t fit as much as nerdy-biochemist-Barry, who just happens to work in the same research facility as her best friend.

“Sorry.” The apology seems to come from nowhere, so Iris cocks her head, encouraging him to explain.

“I’m a bit starstruck,” he laughs.

“Why?”

“Well….” Barry shuffles his feet, his hand coming to the nape of his neck, “you’re Iris West. You know, Ace Reporter Iris West….

_The_ Iris West.”

“Well when you put it that way, I’d be a little starstruck too,” Iris sasses back.

His eyes glisten, and she sees traces of a scar on his neck. “You okay?”

“Oh!” He seems to catch onto the scar preoccupying her. “I’m fine. It hurts less now.”

“Good. That’s good.”

They both resort to silence, as neither have anything else to say, and Iris debates excusing herself to go see what’s going on with Wally and Cisco.

But then, his voice comes again, a little bit higher pitched this time around. “I really am a big fan!” he exclaims, before retreating, “sorry sorry. That’s really forward and I don’t want to seem like too eager of a fan. I just…” he pauses to catch his breath, “...I just really admire your work.”

She can’t help the smile, feeling all too humbled by his words. “Yeah?”

“Yeah!” he nods, fervently, “especially your series on the importance of funding the art museum and exploratorium. I mean, the way you present your argument. It’s so engaging and so…”

His voice trails off as he looks at her again, “...beautiful, I guess. Like you.”

Iris blushes.

Because he’s a sweet talker. And he’s saying all the right words. And she’s blushing.

“Sorry, I’m sorry.”

“No Barry,” she grips his arm, “stop apologizing. I’m flattered, really. Thank you.”

The banter goes on a little while longer, as the conversation flows with ease. He asks her about her favorite stories she’s covered, and what she’s currently working on now. She answers what she cans, but she is a journalist afterall. So she quickly starts asking him the questions, and Barry opens up more than she excepts.

But it’s cute. _He’s_ cute. And she figures she can talk to him all day, if given the chance.

“Figured you’d be here…” Iris hears Linda’s voice from the doorway.

Quickly, she gets off the chair and makes her way over. “Hi!” she says, pulling in the reporter for a hug. “You’re here!”

“Was looking for your brother,” Linda smiles, before pulling away, “but him and Cisco seem to be in a very heated conversation about physics, and I got bored.”

“Does Wally like science too?” Barry asks, still sitting in the chair.

Linda gives Iris a look. “Who’s this?”

“Linda, this is Barry,” she says, making her way over back to him, “Barry, Linda.”

“And you’re Linda Park,” Barry stands tall, extending a hand. “The Linda Park! This is sooo cool!”

“Hi,” the reporter looks on, still gripping his hand, “and you know me how?”

“Oh sorry, I’m sorry!”

“No Barry, really,” Iris steps in. He really _needs_ to stop apologizing. And being so cute. “Linda, turns out Barry is a big fan of CCPN.”

“Is he now?”

“I really am!” he quickly nods in agreement, “you and Iris are quite the pair of writers. Truly!”

_That we are_ , Iris thinks, meeting her friend’s eyes and smiling. Because Linda’s been with her and Wally since the start, and if anything, Barry’s statement didn’t begin to encompass the extent of their relationship.

Just then, Iris’s phone pings with a new update. Linda catches on. “That’s from CCPN, Iris. We gotta go cover a story,” she stares at her, and Iris understands, the chase to find the metas continuing.

“Okay, yeah,” Iris agrees, shoving her phone back into her pocket, “Barry.”

He snaps out of his trance. “Ye-yeah?”

“Mind telling Wally and Cisco we had to go back to work?”

“I can do that,” he grins.

On the way out, Linda doesn’t let up with the comments, and Iris doesn’t know whether Cisco, Linda or Wally will tease her the most about her seemingly obvious (and growing) crush on the pretty boy with pretty green eyes.


	3. Chapter 3

"Why can't we get any detail on them!" Iris huffs in frustration, reading the bystander reports on the two metas. "I swear, we had them at the bar last night. But Cisco and I weren't fast enough, and they got the best of Wally."

"I'm just glad Killer Frost didn't freeze him to death," Linda answers distractedly, glancing at the comments on their anonymous blog, "fire is easier to deal with than ice."

Iris knows there's more truth to that comment than what's on the surface. Her mom died as a result of Killer Frost, which was this overwhelming burden both her and her brother dealt with for the past few years. 

At the time, it seemed like a freak incident. The medical examiner said her vitals just stopped working, that it was the result of hypothermia, bringing her body temperature down to 45 degrees Fahrenheit. No one knew what caused it, especially since Central City had been pretty warm around that time and Francine wasn't exactly in a place that was cold. She was simply leaving her law office to go back home, granted it was late at night. When she didn't come home an hour after she said she would, that's when Iris and Wally got really worried about her.

The rest was stuff, Iris didn't want to remember, details about her dad being the first to find the body, details about Wally collapsing to his knees, details about the funeral and the condolences and the blur of things that happened all at once.

At that time, she was finishing up her Masters in Psychology. But then witness reports about a streak of ice began popping up the night her mom died, and Iris was pretty set on figuring out who the hell would do such a thing, so she decided to pick up a journalism degree. 

Then her brother was struck by lightning. And he was in a coma for nine months. And during that time, Jesse was monitoring him and Iris was learning that the impossible was happening to Wally, how he kept dying and undying and how his metabolism was too fast for someone in a coma.

When he woke up, he could run  _really really_ fast.

And she was convinced he wasn't the only one, beginning to put together details about the incident that happened to their mom and Wally's newfound speed.

That was three years ago.

With the help of Cisco, Jesse and Linda, Wally and Iris had a team behind them that allowed them to stop the most powerful metas from hurting the city. Her brother was at the face of the action. She was the mastermind working behind the scenes.

But even with all the success they'd had, this was still their biggest mystery. And Iris knew she wouldn't rest until her mom's killer was brought to justice.

"Iris!" 

Linda's voice comes again.

"Sorry," Iris whispers, continuing to scroll through more tweets dated back to the night of the bar incident, "just got a little distracted."

Linda stops what she's doing, her hand coming to shift Iris's attention towards her. "Are you alright...?" she asks, cautiously.

_No._

And Linda already knows that answer, by the way she pulls Iris in for a hug, in their private office at CCPN.

They'd set up something along the likes of a _Spotlight_ team. Every reporter in CCPN knew that Iris and Linda, along with Scott, did some additional work, work that consisted of the meta-side of stories in the city, work that was not as transparent as the newsroom often required, but they were good at their jobs so few people pestered them. With that came unlimited access to intel provided by both CCPN and CCPD. Fortunately, Joe was more than willing to get the police department to help when it came to tracking metas, and with Iris's connection to him, it made linking the two units a bit easier for her.

Though it didn't necessarily mean she always had the access she needed. Sometimes her dad was reluctant about her chasing after stories, especially if they meant the potential of her getting hurt. Luckily, Wally often came to her defense and the pair of them could usually convince Joe it would be alright.

"Sorry, Lin." Iris sniffs, fighting off the tears. "It's just been a rough stretch."

Linda pulls away, affectionately tucking a strand of Iris's hair behind her ear. "You remember what I keep telling you?"

She does she does she does.  _You don't always have to be so strong. It's okay to break down. You can talk to me._

But even with that, Iris wasn't the best about opening up.

Before she can answer, Linda gets a call and by the way she speaks, Iris knows the message is urgent.

"Apparently," Linda says after hastily hanging up, "someone was able to track their movements all the way to the outskirts of the city, said they were headed to some sort of mountain thing."

"Mountain thing?" Iris asks, her mind already detailing all the mountains in the area, "what like in the St. Francois mountains?"

"Seems like it," Linda confirms, looking at the location just pinged to her phone from Scott. She turns the screen to show Iris, and Iris scans the area surrounding. She looks up at Linda. "You don't think they have some sort of base in the Taum Sauk Mountain, do you?"

It was the highest point in Missouri and it seemed like as good of place as any to have a secret hide out. And with the landscape and vastness of that region, little people would care to be too curious to look for two metas hiding away.

"Maybe they do. And if they do, we could probably get Cisco to do a detail of the area."

"Yeah okay." Iris gathers her stuff after returning the phone back to Linda. Quickly the two of them make their way back to Wally and Iris's base, already sending a message for the Cisco and Wally to meet them there.

* * *

After breaking the news to Wally and Cisco, Cisco and Iris leave Linda and Wally alone, both to give them some alone time and also because Cisco seemed pretty intent on telling Iris something.

"I did a thing," he says sheepishly, snagging a lollipop from her drawer in the kitchen.

"What kind of thing?" she glares at him.

"A thing that you may or may not approve of."

"...Cisco..."

"Don't get mad at me. But you're single and he's a good guy," Cisco's voice trails off.

"...who?" she asks, a little confused by the revelation.

Cisco laughs. "You know, for someone who's so quick to understand, you sure lag behind in the love department."

And it clicks.

_Barry._

"Whyyyy?"

"You like him! And he's a good guy!" Cisco hurriedly defends. "Plus, we both know you wouldn't make the first move and Barry wouldn't let up about it."

She rubs her temples. "He  _cannot_ get involved with me!"

"You say that about every guy, Iris! You deserve to have some fun too!"

They'd had this argument before, too many times, if she were being honest. Both her and Cisco worked too hard for their own good, but he somehow found a way to balance social life and professional life, something she hadn't come to grips with just yet.

And maybe she was partly avoiding it, especially when it came to friendships or relationships with people who she wasn't already acquainted with. Her life was messy. It involved a lot of lies and secrecy, and she didn't want to lead anyone on, especially when there were boundaries she couldn't cross.

It also didn't help that she was fiercely protective of anyone she was involved with. Part of the reason for her previous failings when it came to love was because she always got too afraid someone would get hurt, and she couldn't subject others to that, nor could she live with the pain if something  _did_ happen.

Which was maybe why she didn't like to think about her mom too much.

"Iris," Cisco snaps her out of her thoughts, reaching for her hands, "please don't let him go."

He silently pleads with her, and she can't help but wonder if this was the same guy he'd been wanting to set her up with. As if he read her mind, Cisco adds, "honestly, I would've introduced you two at some point or another, and he really is a great guy and he's super understanding.

He's a fan! He knows the nature of your job. I made it clear to him. And he still wants a shot, if you're game."

Iris lets out another sigh, dropping her hands from his and walking over to pour herself a glass of water. "You gave him my number?"

"I gave him your number." Cisco confirms.

"He hasn't texted yet."

"I told him not to."

She turns around. "...then why'd you give him my number?"

"I told him that I'd tell you first and if you were interested, you'd reach out to him," he smiles.

And Iris can't help but return the smile. "You are something else, Cisco Ramon."

"Please do it."

"Reach out?"

"Reach out," he repeats. "If you do, I'll finally ask the barista out at Jitters."

"No!" Iris grins.

"I swear, I will!"

"You're using me as an excuse," she scrunches his eyes and pokes his chest a few times, catching on to the facade.

"I am not!"

"Oh yes you are! We both know your wallet's been getting tight from how much money you've spent there on her behalf."

Iris swears its blush she can see on his cheeks. "She's sweet," Cisco laughs, "and she finds my jokes amusing and she somehow manages to sneak me a free slice of cake every now and again."

"I can't believe you've sat on this for the past month."

"It's hard!" he justifies. "I just...I don't wanna mess it up. Laurel seems...I dunno...like maybe she's the one? Maybe?"

He's flustered and if Iris weren't so sympathetic, maybe she'd tease him a bit more, but instead she drops it. "Fine."

"Fine?" his eyes light up.

"I'll text Barry tonight. But I better be helping you pick out your clothes for the date!"

"You've got yourself a deal, Ms. West."

As it turns out, one text turns into an hour-long phone conversation. Because that's just the kind of guy Barry is, and after she hangs up, she can't help but consider the implications of this.

Wally needed a few days to fully heal, per orders from Jesse, so they weren't in any real position to go after Killer Frost and DeathStorm just yet. And Cisco was still canvassing the area, so it would be awhile before they'd get a detail on exactly what they were up against. So with things a bit stalled in the development of tracking the metas, Iris would inevitably have some time.

Time that she now offered up to Barry, as they were planning to get coffee tomorrow, in Jitters of all places. Really, she agreed for two reasons. One, she figured she'd be there to watch if Cisco dared to chicken out from asking Laurel out. And two, Barry was a charming guy, one who she was ridiculously scared of falling for.

He already got hurt once because of her. Because of what her and her brother do, because they weren't quick enough to do their jobs. And she didn't want to risk that again.

But his voice was easy on the ears and his love for biochemistry was endearing, and the minutes passed by without her even realizing them.

If anything, it'd just be coffee. Coffee was always a good thing. 

But, even if she wasn't willing to admit it just yet, she was hoping it'd turn out to be more than just that...more than coffee.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am all done with finals, so I'll have more time to update. Next chapters should come fairly quickly.

**Author's Note:**

> Many of y'all who follow me probably know that I'm not the happiest with the show right now. While the reservations I have with it keep me from enjoying it much, I do still wholeheartedly adore these characters, especially Iris. So I plan to develop each one of them that are mentioned in this story, hopefully giving them their rightful arcs.
> 
>  
> 
> Title is taken from "Spectrum" by Florence + the Machine


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